No Vista in Sight

Saying a Microsoft desktop OS will be late is like saying Tom Cruise will say
something stupid -- it's a forgone conclusion. At last week's financial analysts
meeting, Microsoft was so equivocal about Vista delivery, I'm wondering if it
will ever arrive. Exec Kevin Johnson got Wall Street heads spinning by saying,
"We will
ship Windows Vista when it is available." Thank you, Captain Obvious!

Who Will Design Vista PCs? In the early days of personal computing, companies like IBM, Eagle,
Tandy, Vector and Kapro designed computers. (What was your favorite old computer?
Tell me at dbarney@redmondmag.com)
Once the Windows monopoly took hold, Redmond began dictating just how PCs should
be built -- stray from the guidelines and you can forget about sporting the
Windows logo.

For Vista, Microsoft hopes to pull out all the stops with snazzy
new designs that could just as easily come from Steve Jobs. With crazy curves
and the Aero Glass interface, Vista PCs will look very different. But I'm more
concerned about stability and security. I'd use MS-DOS again if hackers couldn't
bust into it!

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Redmond Swallows a Whale Whale Communications, which makes SSL security devices that work closely
with ISA Server, is now
part of Microsoft. First order of business: a 25 percent discount on Whale's
Intelligent Application Gateway product and its add-ons.

If I was a third party supporting ISA, I'd be worried, nervous and irritated.
Imagine staking your business on doing what Microsoft wants, supporting its
latest tools, only to have the same company going directly after your business.
Ouch.

About the Author

Doug Barney is editor in chief of Redmond magazine and the VP, editorial director of Redmond Media Group.